The architecture of Persians was more columnar and that led to vastly different massive architectural features from that of the Mesopotamian era.

1. PERSIAN ARCHITECTUREPresentation By- Ar. Roopa Chikkalgi
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2. An Introduction – Empire
• The Persian Empire is any of a series
of imperial dynasties centered in Persia
(now Iran).
• The first of these was established by Cyrus the
Great in 550 BC, with the Persian conquest
of Media, Lydia and Babylonia.
• Persian dynastic history was interrupted by
the Islamic conquest (651 AD) and later by
the Mongol invasion.
• The most successful cultures became empires
with control over vast areas. One of the most
successful empires in the Near East, however, was
the Persian Empire.
• The empire's lifespan was from around 539 BCE to
651 CE. Persia was situated in modern-day Iran.
The empire spanned from Egypt to Turkey. The
expansion occurred under the rule of rulers like
Cyrus II, Darius and Xerxes.
• Extending its boundaries into culture-rich areas
like Egypt and Greece, Persia influenced and was
influenced by many of the surrounding native
groups.

3. An Introduction – General Architectural features
• The architecture of Persians was more columnar and that led to vastly different massive
architectural features from that of the Mesopotamian era.
• The use of flat timber roofs rather than vaults led to more slender columns and were rather more
graceful. This also led to rooms being squarer in shape than simple long rectangle.
• The roofing system was also very different, wherein the wooden brackets were covered in clay
and provided more stability. The use of a double mud wall might have provided room for
windows just below ceiling in structures like Palace of Persepolis.

4. Mausoleum of Cyrus the Great
• The site of Pasargadae (which was then the capital city of the Persian Empire)
compromises of four free standing structures. Centered on a citadel, a residential palace,
the tomb of Cyrus and a sacred precinct.
• The Tomb of Cyrus, despite having ruled over much of the ancient world, Cyrus the Great
would design a tomb that depicts extreme simplicity and modesty when compared to
those of other ancient kings and rulers.
• The simplicity of the structure has a powerful effect on the viewer, since aside from a few
moldings below the roof and a small rosette above its small entrance, there are no other
stylistic distractions.
• This box like monument made of limestone measures 3.2m x 2.3m (10ft6in x 7ft 6in) gabled
and standing on a platform with 6 steps. The feature is that of a typical Achaemenian
architectural style with large blocks accurately cut and smoothly dressed without use of
mortar but reinforced by lead and iron.

6. • The edifice, or the "small house" is a rectangular, elongated cube that lies directly on
top of the pyramidal stone steps, and is 6’6” (2m) in width x 6’6” (2m) in height, and 10 ft
(3m) in length. The inside of the edifice is occupied by a small chamber a few feet in
width and height, and around ten feet deep.
• It was inside this chamber where the bed and coffin of Cyrus the Great would have been
situated.
• The edifice has a pediment roof possessing the same length and width dimensions as the
edifice itself.
• Around the tomb were a series of columns, the original structure which they supported is
no longer present.
• Arrian's direct testimony indicates that Cyrus the Great was indeed buried in the chamber
inside the edifice, as he describes Alexander seeing it during his visit to Pasargadae, but it
is also a possibility that the body of Cyrus the Great had been interred below the
structure, and that the tomb seen on the top is in fact a cenotaph or a false tomb.
• There was originally a golden coffin inside the mausoleum, resting on a table with golden
supports, inside of which the body of Cyrus the Great was interred.
• Upon his resting place, was a covering of tapestry and drapes made from the best
available Babylonian materials, using fine Median workmanship; below his bed was a fine
red carpet, covering the narrow rectangular base of his tomb.

7. The City of Susa
The city of SUSA was the Persian capital in succession to
Babylon, where there is a building with a citadel complex.
There was a good skill set of artisans and laborers available
which made the palace complex more of a piece of art
than just a building structure. Cedar wood was got from
Lebanon and teak from the mountain of Zagros. The baked
bricks were still made in the Babylonian method.

8. The Palace of Persepolis
The work on palace of Persepolis began in 518 BC and mostly was executed by Xerxes (son of
Darius ii) in 465 BC. The various buildings stood on a platform and were partly excavated to find
out the original layout. The layout was 460m X 275m (1500ft X 900ft) and raising to an extent of
15m. The approach on the North West was by magnificent stairway 6.7m wide and shallow
enough for the hoses to ascend. A gateway by Xerxes had mud brick walls and front and rear
portals guarded by the winged bulls.

11. APADANA – Audience hall. A third gateway on the South led towards Apadana, a grand
audience hall 76.2m (250ft) square hall with thirty six columns within 6m thick wall. It stood on
an own terrace 3m high and had three porticos each with double colonnades and stairway
on north and eastern side. There are minor rooms on the southern side of the hall.

14. • The size of the palace is smaller by comparison to the other
structures in the complex, is present on the south of the Apadana
near the west terrace wall. This was finished in his life time and
almost at the same period, the terraced “Tripylon” was also finished.
It lay centrally among the buildings and acted as the reception
chamber and guard room for more private affairs of the palace. A
treasury was also a contribution by Darius eventually into the entire
complex.
THE PALACE OF DARIUS

16. THE PALACE OF XERXES
The contribution of Darius in the complex had all the
buildings very loosely arranged, in between the
existing buildings Xerxes made his contribution. The
palace of Xerxes was built in the South-west angle,
connected with an L shaped building which was
identified as women’s quarters. The major
contribution of Xerxes was the hall of hundred
columns which was his throne room. The throne room
was 68.6m square room with columns to a height of
11.3m supporting a flat roof made of cedar wood.
The walls were double except for the north side
where it had a portico facing the apadana. The
throne room had two doorways and seven windows
on the main wall.

19. The Tomb of Darius, Naksh-I-Rustam
• 13 km from north of Palace of Persepolis, is the tomb of ruler Darius. The façade of this rock-
hewn structure is 18.3m wide and reproduces the south front of the Palace of Darius.
• There are four columns of double bull type central doorway, with Egyptian like cornice and
upper compartment in which elaborate throne is 2.7m high is supported. Near the tomb there
is a Fire temple a stone square tower with a single room with external staircase.
• The kings were interred behind a cliff-cut bas-relief that would resemble an accurate
depiction of the king's own palace and its structural details.
• The accuracy of the facade and its association with the actual structure of the kings' palaces
is so close that they almost produce a view of how the structures would have looked before
time reduced them to remains; Tomb of Darius the Great, for instance mirrors his palace
in Persepolis, the "Tachar" even in scale and dimensions.

20. The tombs are carved into the mountain's side, in form of a cross depressed into the
mountain's limestone background, and elevated from the ground. The relief which is found in
the depressed cruciform is that which depicts the respective king's palace, and also depicts on
its roof, the relief figure of the king praying, to Ahuramazda or what most believe is a reference
to the Zoroastrian icon, Faravahar.
One of the enigmatic features of the complex is a cubical, stone structure standing 12.5 meters
tall, and around 7 meters wide, called the "Ka'ba-ye Zartosht" translating to the "Cube
of Zoroaster" believed to have been constructed during the Acahemenid era and modified
and changed during the Sassanid era. The structure is cubical in base, with blind impressions on
the side resembling windows, and a ruined staircase leading to a small door in the front
leading to a completely empty interior. There are varied speculations as to its function
discussed below.